Vibe Launches New Digital Platforms

Vibe, which has been struggling of late to find innovative ways to deal with the financial crisis, is launching two new digital platforms.
Vibe Video is set to deliver 15,000 original music videos from providers such as Universal, Sony/BMG, and Warner Music. The service is fully searchable by artist or title, and it offers users the opportunity to rate, mark as a favorite, and comment on any video in the catalog.

Vibe Mobile which will offer opt-in mobile text alerts and updates on content tailored by the user, which contains an embedded link to read the entire story. Full release and further details after the jump.

March 24, 2009 – New York City – VIBE Media Group, the definitive voice of urban culture, in its continued commitment to develop and deepen its brand reach, announces two new digital platform services, VIBE Video and VIBE Mobile.

VIBE Video will deliver music videos on demand at VIBE.com. VIBE Video will start with more than 15,000 original music videos from providers such as Universal, Sony/BMG, and Warner Music. The service is fully searchable by artist or title, and it offers users the opportunity to rate, mark as a favorite, and comment on any video in the catalog. The most viewed, commented, and discussed videos will be made available on the site. VIBE’s content team will post weekly top picks to keep the avid music fans up to date on what’s hot.

“Access to this huge catalog of premium content allows us to give more of the content our users crave. We can now incorporate related video content to our site’s features to enhance the user’s experience…articles, celebrity features, music reviews, and more,” explains Ross Robbins, VIBE’s Director of Digital Media.

VIBE Mobile will be the first national urban/lifestyle brand to offer opt-in mobile text alerts and updates on content tailored by the user, which contains an embedded link to read the entire story. Users can sign up to receive updates when new content is posted, based on specific artist or topic keywords. This unique offering transforms and enhances VIBE.com’s user experience by allowing them to access content in a personalized way via direct text message.

Robbins adds, “Not only can people now view the daily content updated on our Web site in a clear way from their phones, but they can also tailor what content gets sent to them in text alerts to keep up to date regularly. With the wide amount of content across the Web and ways it can be consumed, it is imperative to deliver only what the reader is looking for and strip the excess. That is what our text message keyword filter accomplishes.”

Edgar Hernandez, VIBE’s Publisher explains, “Our marketing partners are excited and see real potential in our two newly created platforms, which will give them the opportunity to transmit their message at key moments in our audience’s daily lives. We believe that mobile will continue to grow as an integral part of the overall media bundle, and that our emphasis on video will provide a strong contextual environment to build the brand in the years to come. We’re excited to help marketers further explore the power of mobile marketing.”

Both VIBE Video and VIBE Mobile launched on March 17, 2009. Visit http://m.vibe.com and http://www.vibe.com/music/videos to access the mobile and music video sites respectively.